Typhoon in the bahamas!

[Lotis]

Just finished a two week cruise in the Bahamas on my Ty Weekender. Ft Lauderdale to West End, to Bimini, and back to Ft Lauderdale. The Ty really raised some eyebrows over there as most sailboats were at least twice her size. Did get me a few drinks bought here and there though, haha. The Ty handled everything that was thown at it, including 8-10 ft seas and high winds that whipped up on the gulf stream crossing back to the States. My confidence in the old girl grows every time i take the tiller.

[novotny]

Very cool, would love to hear more about your trip. Did you modify your TY for this in any way? How about electronics, provisioning, special gear, etc. This is something I want to do in the next couple of years. Cheers. Jerry

[Lotis]

yes i did a few things to the Ty in order to get her ready for the trip. Two 1 1/2 inch cockpit drains and full flow bronze seacocks in place of the tiny original ones. gusher 30 titan manual bilge pump. New standing rigging with norseman terminals. Mast compression post was added in West End (comprised of a 2x6 and a 4x6 found on the beach), worked great. Triple stiched, triple reef main, triple stitched double reef 90% working jib, a 110 jib and a 135. Sextant and related materials, two handheld GPSs, way too many charts. Two 5w solar panels, a six volt ACR anchor light. 35 lb CQR with 20ft of chain and 200 ft or rode. 15lb danforth with ten feet of chain and 150ft rode. Rum. She was brilliant the whole way. Tons of stories to tell if you are interested haha.

[Oswego John]

Hi all,

Several years ago, I was the fortunate recipient of an account of the everyday comings and goings while cruising the Bahamas. Actually, it was the daily log, written in explicit detail, of cruising and island hopping in the these intriguing waters

It was provided to me by another west coast author, a no-nonsense man of detail, an author of many years of offshore, coastal and international cruising experience, and probably most important to him, a man of great modesty and humbleness.

This account in log format was sent to me by our own CDSOA member Tom C. at a very low health plateau in my life. The reading and rereading of the saga of this itinerant, waterbourne nomad was just the perfect tonic to remind me of days gone by and journeys to semi-tropical ports that had dissolved into mere memories.

Again, in my mind's eye, I was reenacting the passage across the "stream", having an eagle eye glued to the fathometer, straining to pick up the next sequential buoy and hoping/praying that it hadn't shifted, wondering if the chart was still accurate. Playful dolphins and bumps in the night, to be sure.

Tom, thanks. You will never know the good that it did for me. I know that the thanks is longcoming, but with age, the compounded interest has increased it's value.

Thank you.
O J

[wingreen]

yes i did a few things to the Ty in order to get her ready for the trip... Rum.

Yar! It is a common but understandable misconception that sailing vessels are powered by the wind, when in fact they are really powered by rum. We often see sailboats tied to a mooring or dock all day in strong winds, but she won't move an inch until the rum is on board. It also comes in handy for snakebites.

BTW, one of my sailing dreams is to sail the Bahamas. I think I may be at least a year or two away from that dream, though. For now I'm content to cruise the quiet shoals of the Eastern Gulf.

[Neil Gordon]

[Rum] also comes in handy for snakebites.

Snakebite can be almost completely avoided if you stay on the boat and drink rum instead of walking around on the land.

[Lotis]

the rum is mostly there so in the middle of the gulf stream, when you realize you are on a 18.5 ft boat in ten foot seas, you can take a slug of liquid courage, haha! One shot of rum is equal to about 3 ft of waterline.

[Russell]

A 35lb CQR on a Ty? Wow, talk about oversizing your anchor!

[novotny]

Ok, thats about 3 1/2 shots of rum for 10 ft waves, got it. The details i would be interested in are relating to the high wind/ high wave part of your trip. Did you have to alter your course to accomodate the conditions? Any breaking waves? Any idea of the wind speed? More detail bout the boat behavior in this? Any self steering? And thats just to start

[Lotis]

i had really bad weather only twice on the trip. The nite i arrived at West End, it was already getting pretty rough out, so i threw the hook out, threw up the boom tent and went to bed. Wind got worse all nite, probably sustained into the thirties with very very bad gusts. Next morning when i woke up i was the only boat in the anchorage the two big cats that were there when i had gotten there had moved into the marina during the nite. I lost no sleep knowing that big CQR and lots of chain were out, i don't think they were as sure of their holding power. The only other tough weather i had was on the crossing from Bimini back to Ft Lauderdale. I headed out knowing it would be a rough one, but i wanted the wind so i decided a rough ride was worth it. The wind though strong was SSW perfect to make an east crossing, so i went for it, the seas were high and wind im not sure of but i had to get down two reefs in the main and used the larger of my two bad weather jibs. She was perfectly happy with that much sail up, though i did have to loosen the mainsheet a few times when a bad gust came up. The wave direction was not uncomfortable as they usually swept right under her, several did break into the cockpit but the huge cockpit drains worked flawlessly and i have the bottom hatchboard permanently mounted and caulked shut, and the other two lock into place as well, so no water got inside. It was an exciting run back to the States but the Ty was never overwhelmed or out of control. As for self steering, basic tiller tie off, for short times, and some basic sheet to tiller. I'm looking at finding a Navik if anyone has one.......

[winthrop fisher]

hey welcome to the ranks of blue water sailors for typhooners.

a great job indeed and i take my hat off to you.

don't you love seening those high seas from the cockpit of a typhoon.

there are very fews of us doing just that and having lots of fun with it.

their are only a handful of us still doing that in the u.s..

take care.
winthrop

[wingreen]

the rum is mostly there so in the middle of the gulf stream, when you realize you are on a 18.5 ft boat in ten foot seas, you can take a slug of liquid courage, haha! One shot of rum is equal to about 3 ft of waterline.

Aha! Liquid courage! That's a good thing to remember for my XO the next time we're out in high seas. She ordered us back to port last time we were in 6-ft seas.